Making snow for the Capitol Square Sprints

The snowguns were going full blast Tuesday night out at the Alliant Energy Center, as organizers of this weekend's video clip of this artificial wintry blast follows below.

In broad daylight on Wednesday afternoon, the resulting mounds of snow are impressive indeed. Right after crews turn off the snowguns and start to pack them away, Gusev estimates the largest snowpile at 13 to 15 feet, and in this video clip quantifies the volume of water and number of hours that went into making enough cubic feet of snow to groom a one-kilometer Nordic ski loop around Madison's Capitol Square.

Competition begins at 8 p.m. Friday with an attempt at the 100-meter world skate-skiing record. Open skiing begins at 7 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, followed by more competition starting at 9 a.m. New this year: recreational and competitive snowshoeing on Sunday evening, before snow removal begins at 8 p.m.